The Senate’s Executive Calendar

Changes from March 26, 2003 to January 5, 2005

This page shows textual changes in the document between the two versions indicated in the dates above. Textual matter removed in the later version is indicated with red strikethrough and textual matter added in the later version is indicated with blue.

Order Code 98-438 GOV
Updated March 26, 2003January 5, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Senate’s Executive Calendar
Betsy Palmer
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Stanley Bach
Senior Specialist in the Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
Treaties and nominations constitute the executive business of the Senate and are the
subjects of the Senate’s Executive Calendar. When a Senate committee reports a treaty
or nomination, it is said to be placed “on the calendar” and is (or is about to become)
eligible for floorconsideration. It is not in order for the majority leader or any otherSenator to move thatthe Senate proceed to the consideration of a treaty or nomination thatis not on the calendar. If a treaty or
calendar, though the leader could ask unanimous consent to do so. If a treaty or
nomination is not on the calendar, either it remainsin the possession of the committee towhich it was referred, or it is being “held at thedesk” by unanimous consent and awaitinga decision to refer it to committee or to bringit directly to the floor for consideration by unanimous consent. There are no cumulative
issues of the Executive Calendar; each issue documents the status of the Senate’s
executive business as of the day of publication. The Executive Calendar is available
online at
unanimous consent. See [http://www.congress.gov/schedules/slegis.html]. For more information on
legislative process, see [http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml ].
A second Senatecrs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml] for more
information on legislative process.
The Senate’s other calendar, the Calendar of Business, identifies the bills,resolutions,and other items of legislative business eligible for consideration. Both calendars are
published every day that (see CRS
Report 98-429, The Senate’s Calendar of Business). Both the Calendar of Business and
the Executive Calendar are published each day the Senate is in session and are distributed toSenators’ personaloffices and to all committee and subcommittee offices. For additional information on the
Calendar of Business, see CRS Report 98-429, The Senate’s Calendar of BusinessThere are no
cumulative issues of the Executive Calendar, each issue documents the status of the
Senate’s legislative business as of its publication. The Executive Calendar is available
on the Legislative Information System website at
[http://www.congress.gov/schedules/slegis.html].
Each issue of the Executive Calendar contains five sections.
First, the calendar presents the texts of any unanimous consent agreements
concerning executive business that have not yet been fully implemented. Such
agreements may control when the Senate will begin consideration of a treaty or
nomination, for example, or how long Senators can debate it.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
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Second, the calendar lists any Senate executive resolutions that concern executive
business. A proposalmeasure to discharge a committee from further consideration of a treaty or
nomination, for example, would be an executive resolution, which are very rarely used.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
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Third, the calendar lists all treaties that have been reported from committee. A
treaty becomes eligible for floor consideration on the day after it is placed on the calendar.
For each treaty, this list provides:
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the treaty’s calendar number, reflecting the chronological order in which
it was placed on the calendar.
the treaty document number, which is the number assigned to the Senate
document containing the text of the treaty and any accompanying
documents that were submitted to the Senate. Each treaty document is
assigned a number that identifies the Congress during which the
President submitted the treaty and the order in which treaties were
submitted during that Congress. Treaty Doc. 105-2 would refer to the
second treaty submitted to the Senate during the 105th Congress (unlike
nominations and bills, treaties remain before the Senate from oneCongress to the next).
the subject of the treaty.
information on how the treaty was reported, such as when and by whom
it was reported; whether the Foreign Relations Committee reported it
favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation; whether the
committee recommended that the Senate adopt any amendments or any
reservations, conditions, declarations, understandings, or other
statements; and the number of the printed committee report, if any.
Fourth, the calendar lists nominations that have been reported from committee.
Except by unanimous consent, the Senate may not begin floor consideration of a
nomination until it has been on the calendar for at least one day. Any nominations
appearing in the calendar for the first time are listed under the heading of “new reports.”
For each nomination, this section of the calendar identifies:
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the calendar number that is assigned to each nomination in the order in
which it is placed on the calendar;.
the number of the presidential message by which the nomination was
transmitted to the Senate;.
the name of the nominee, the office to which he or she has been
nominated, and the name of the predecessor in that office; and.
information on how the nomination was reported, such as when and by
whom it was reported, which committee reported it, whether the
committee reported it favorably, unfavorably, or without
recommendation, and the number of the printed committee report, if any.
Fifth, the calendar identifies lists of nominations placed on the secretary’s desk.
These are routine nominations— — in the armed services, the Coast Guard, the Public Health
Health Service, and the Foreign Service, for example— — that the Senate normallyconsiders andapproves by unanimous consent without committee action. When theSenate receivessuch nominations, they are printed in the Congressional Record for theinformation of allSenators. After being printed in the Record, these nominations are
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identified in theExecutive Calendar by entries such as “Foreign Service nominationsbeginning John C.Kornblum, and ending William L. Young, which nominations werereceived by the Senateand appeared in the Congressional Record of September 19, 1996.”